Chapter One #3
Silence filled the space, and she got closer to the bottom of the cup when a familiar voice said, “Is she here?”
She glanced up and swallowed the tea. The golden gargoyle, the comptroller of Redbird City. “Me?”
Matthias smiled. “Since we are embarking on a new business at the Grunwald mansion, you need financial assistance. He is the best, so we are offering Reynal’s assistance to you to help train you to enforce your value, actually.”
Krys was mortified. “I will get better at it. I promise.”
“Don’t want to spend time with me, Miss Bright?” Reynal’s voice was a smooth tumble through her thoughts.
She smiled weakly. “No, not at all. I promise to be a quick study so you don’t waste your time.”
“Come on. My office awaits.”
She winced and glared at Leo, who was looking at her with fascination.
Matthias was surprised as well, and he opened his mouth, but a wad of paper caught him in the temple.
Leo said, “I thought vampires had better reflexes than that.”
Krys got up and followed Reynal out of the office as the mayor proved that he had excellent reflexes, based on the squeak from Leo’s desk.
Krys walked through the halls, and the butler smirked. “You look like a wet kitten, Miss Bright.”
Reynal turned to look at her and frowned. “Are you unwell?”
“Just a little tired. Otherwise, fine.”
“Hm. You are going to bed after this?”
“Uh, yeah.”
He led her to his office and thankfully entered before her. She stepped in, and he said, “Close the door, please.”
She swallowed and was suddenly stuck in a room with the only man in Redbird she wanted to jump, but she couldn’t. Clan restrictions meant he had to make the first move, and he was completely clueless or disinterested.
Krys sat through a lecture on pricing her skills based on the amount of estimated time she was needed. “What if the couple can’t afford my involvement, or it’s for a charity? Currently, I don’t know if I am working for the mayor, for the mansion, or for the couple.”
His solid black eyes blinked slowly. “Let me make a call.”
She sat back and finished her tea, setting it on the corner of his desk.
He spoke quietly for a moment and nodded. “For this contract, you are working for the mayor. Do you have all your bills?”
“The ones I have already, yes. There are several that arrive on the day.”
“Send them to me.” He gave her his card, and she began sending him the invoices, the lists, and the spreadsheets.
He looked at the spreadsheet and smiled. “You are very organized.”
“Thank you.”
He focused on her. “Send me the hours that you have spent on this project, and you will be reimbursed at an industry standard rate.”
“I won’t have final numbers until Sunday morning.”
He cocked his head. “Why not Saturday?”
“Cleanup. The cleanup crew needs to be supervised so that the correct company picks up all rentals.”
“Why don’t you have the tables and chairs permanently?”
“Every bride and groom wants a different design, same with linens. The colour scheme, the level of formality, you can’t account for all of it unless you own a wedding supply company, and those already exist, so we are supporting the local economy.
And plates and glassware and cutlery. All in different styles and shapes.
Different plates if it’s a plated meal or a buffet.
You get the idea. Having them all would be impractical. ”
He nodded. “Outsourcing is understandable.”
She nodded and locked her fingers together. This was one of the moments that she hated her parents’ link to their beasts. They had handed the scent sort of thing along to her.
Reynal didn’t flick a lash at her, so she just kept herself calm and all tensed up.
He looked over her documentation and her plan for the upcoming wedding. “There is another wedding in process?”
“Yes. For the following weekend. That one is already arranged, and I have a separate set of files.”
“Please send them.”
She sent Neekil and Hannah’s file and waited while Reynal went over the file.
Krys answered the questions about the differences between the two events, and she smiled as understanding dawned in his expression. “You are taking their cultures into account when it comes to food, drink, and entertainment.”
“Yes. That is what makes it their day and not someone else’s.”
He looked at her and nodded. “I see. What is traditional for your people?”
“Once the clan leader agrees, there is nothing in particular unless a family has their own traditions.”
He cocked his head. “What is your family tradition?”
“Oh. Um. Well, my parents had a civil marriage. He didn’t have much backing to marry her, and she was already pregnant, so they had a small reception with family, and they danced the night away.” She grinned. “And then Mom started puking, so they called it a night.”
He smiled. “Your mother was pregnant?”
“Yes, she thought it would be fun to change shape and go running through a wolf gathering. My father thought the same, and nature took its course.”
Reynal blinked. “They know you tell the story?”
“They know I tell the truth. They had a whirlwind courtship and have been married for nearly thirty years.” She smiled at him. “Are we done?”
“For tonight. I need to speak to you on Sunday.”
“Okay. Thanks for helping me to do this part. Charging for my services has always been a difficulty for me. I am never sure what I am worth.”
“I will run comparisons and check your satisfaction rating. I will work it out.”
She got to her feet. “Thank you again. I know that Matthias asked you—”
“I volunteered.”
“What?”
Reynal smiled at her as he stood. “I volunteered to help you work this out. You are fun to hang out with.”
She smiled weakly and held out her hand, feeling the warm grip of his hand on hers. She nodded and escaped. Time to try and sleep before she had to get up in six hours.